Adam Comes Home

Ben, Hannah, and Sarah enjoying having Adam home.

We brought Adam home on Saturday August 21st. The kids were so excited to have little Adam home and to be able to hold him when they wanted. Daniel was especially happy to have us home. The time without Mom and Dad was definitely hardest on Daniel. It's taken some time, but Dan has gotten used to his little brother and is much better at sharing Mom and Dad. Here are some more pictures of the kids holding Adam when we got home.

Hannah holding Adam all by herself.

Gracie keeping an eye on Adam.

Daniel exploring Adam.

Daniel loves to take the Binky from Adam and then try to give it back to him. Adam's typically not too found of this game, yet.

Adam Meets His Siblings

All 6 kids! Hannah, Gracie, Sarah, Adam, Daniel, and Ben

All 6 kids, again (yes the striped shirts were planned.)

The morning after Adam was born Kenny brought the kids to the hospital to see him. They were all very excited to meet their new little brother and I was excited to see them. It was quite the sight having all 6 of our kids together for the first time. Luckily my hospital room was good sized and there was plenty of room for the kids to wander around. Adam slept through most of the introductions, but each kid got to take a turn holding him. Lots of questions were asked as we explored the new things about the new baby. The kids didn't stay long, it's a little overwhelming, but they were good while they were there and they enjoyed meeting Adam. Now for the pictures.

Sarah Kate holding Adam. By day 2 Adam was looking more like Sarah did when she was a baby.

Ben holding his little brother.

Hannah holding and loving baby Adam.

Gracie's turn to hold Adam

The best picture we got of Daniel holding Adam.

This is how Daniel typically held Adam.

Baby Adam

The little girls exploring baby Adam and asking lots of questions.

The Arrival of Adam Patrick

Adam Patrick Newbry

Kenny told me the other day that I needed to blog about our child before he enters kindergarten. While I still have a few years (at least 5 to be exact) until that happens, he does make a good point that I'm a little behind on my blogging. For some reason I've been dreading this blog. I don't know if it's because it's the last blog I'll write about the arrival of one of our children, or if it's just because I don't feel I have the words to describe such a wonderful event. I'm sure it's a little of both and a lot of other reasons as well. Anyway, I finally decided it needs to be done, so here goes.

We were told to go to the hospital at noon on Thursday August 19th for an induction. Dr, Huggins was out of town that morning, but expected to be back around noon so Kenny and I quickly found a babysitter for the other 5 kids (thanks so much Sara) and headed to the hospital. I wasn't expecting to be induced until the next Tuesday at the earliest so this was such a pleasant surprise. At this point I was so tired of being pregnant. The gestational diabetes had made me so large and uncomfortable, the baby had plenty of room to roam (thanks to the extra fluid) and therefore kicked and hurt me more than any of the other kids did, I couldn't sleep at night, and I was just all around miserable. The news of an early induction was music to my ears.

We arrived at the hospital a little after noon and got set up for the induction. Our nurse said she had just talked to Dr. Huggins who was still in Victor, Idaho. She wanted to wait to give me the pitocin until she was nearing Idaho Falls. This was not happy news to me. Luckily the nurse did start the medicine, but she used so little of it, it barely did anything. It took Dr. Huggins about 2 hours to get into town and by that time Kenny and I were so ready to go. There's nothing like sitting in a hospital room waiting for the doctor to show up. After I was OK'd to have the pitocin dosage upped, my body started to do it's thing. I got an epidural (those are so nice) and we hung out waiting for baby to come.

Adam with Dr. Huggins

I was slow moving at first, but I assumed that when I dilated to a 5 I would go quickly. That's what I typically do, but this time was an exception. My last 2 babies have been that way and I knew it meant there was something not right. Gracie didn't go quick because she was posterior and Daniel didn't go quick because he had that terrifying figure 8 knot in his cord. I knew something was up with Adam, I just didn't know what. About 5:00 the nurse discovered Adam was posterior, just like Gracie had been. This didn't excite me because it took Gracie FOREVER to correct her position (they almost did a C-section) and I wasn't looking forward to waiting for Adam to move. They had me lay on my sides to try and get him to move, but every time I'd lay on my right side his heart rate would drop drastically and this brought back images of Daniel's birth. So, to keep Adam's heart rate where it needed to be I stayed mostly on my back and waited for him to change position on his own.

Waiting for baby to come

Around 7:00 things started to happen. I was progressing much quicker thanks to Adam's willingness to move a little and the doctor was called back to the hospital for the delivery. When Adam arrived we discovered that his heart rate kept dropping because he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. I must admit I'm not a fan of having babies born purple and not screaming. They took him quickly to the warming bed and I was left to frantically ask if he was OK. In total I've had 3 babies born screaming and 3 babies born quite (funny fact: all the girls were screaming and the boys were not) and when they're born silent I absolutely hate the helpless feeling of sitting in the hospital bed unable to get to my baby or see what's going on. Each time one of the boys was born Kenny was right over at the warming bed checking on them and being there with them. Being stuck in the hospital beds is definitely one of the disadvantages of being the mother. The doctor kept telling me he was fine, he just had the cord wrapped around his neck, but I still hadn't heard him cry. It seemed like forever (it was probably only a minute or so) before I finally heard that wonderful first cry.

The wonderful, welcomed scream of a new baby, finally!

Being that he had been posterior, he had bruises all over his face from hitting my bones as he was trying to come out upside down. His face was swollen and bruised, but it surprisingly didn't last too long. When he was first born he looked a lot like Daniel only with less hair. He was born at 7:14 and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. Thankfully he hadn't gained too much weight because of the diabetes and he was born a perfectly normal, healthy weight.

Weight: 8 lb 3.5 ounces

After he passed his first check I was able to hold him. There are few things in life more amazing than holding your child for the first time. Looking down into their beautiful face is such an emotional time. I've always thought to myself, 'Of course this is you. I should have known.' My babies always seem to belong from the moment they come into the world and Adam was no exception. It's a very spiritual time for me and it's something I'm truly going to miss.

Mommy and Adam

Being that it was so late we decided to wait until morning to let the kids come meet Adam. Kenny went to rescue our good friend Sara from all 5 of our kids and put them in bed. I was taken to my room where I was able to eat a nice boxed lunch and some crackers. I love eating after having a baby. It's such a wonderful feeling to get food back in my body. Adam was keep in the nursery for about 2 hours while he took a bath and did all the necessary tests. I finally got him back around 11:00. I fed him, held him, and just enjoyed him for about 2 hours and then sent him back to the nursery so I could get some much needed rest.

We are so happy to welcome Adam into our family. It took us awhile to name him, but we finally settled on Adam Patrick. We like the name Adam and think it fits well with the names of the other kids. Patrick comes from my side of the family. My dad's middle name is Patrick, my brothers first name is Patrick (he goes by his middle name) and I have a grandfather from the Lewis and Clark expedition whose name was Patrick. The name seems to fit him and hopefully he'll like it.

I'm consistently reminded of how lucky I am to have 6 wonderful, healthy children. We've had some easy births and some scary births and I'm fully aware of how lucky we are.Adam is a great addition to our family and we are truly blessed to have him in our lives.

Half Dozen Newbry Kids

#6 Sucking His Fingers

This blog is a long time coming, but I have a feeling it's going to be a long one so I've been putting it off. Had I written it back when we found out we were having a baby it would have been a much different post. Even if I wrote it back in March when we announced, it would have been a different post, but I've waited until now so I guess it's going to be what it is.

Kenny and I have always wanted a big family. I wanted 5 (until we had Sarah, then I felt like there were 6 kids for us) and Kenny wanted 4 or 6, not 5 because he didn't want an odd number. After Gracie came we toyed with the idea of stopping, but then of course, Daniel came (see the blog all about expecting him if you like.) When we found out he was a boy we knew we were going to have another one. We didn't want our little guy on the end with no siblings he could be close to. Sarah and Ben have each other and Gracie and Hannah are the best sisters ever. Daniel was left with no one. So we knew we were going to have another one, we just didn't expect him to come as soon as he did.

The last week of December I started to get hints that something may be not normal in my body. On New Years Eve day I finally got brave enough to take a test and surprisingly it had a very faint positive line. Now, it's not that we weren't happy to be having another baby, but Daniel was only 6 months old at the time and I was SOOOOO not ready to be pregnant again. I was in shock, though inside I new it was true, and Kenny was in shock also. I didn't scream this time like I did when I found out about Daniel, I just cried. I was so enjoying not being pregnant, not having a newborn, and the fact that I had just stopped nursing a few weeks earlier. The last thing in the world I wanted at that moment was to start the entire process over again. It took awhile to come to terms with the news. I've always been excited about the baby, but the pregnancy took a while to get on board with (I'm still not all the way there.)

We kept the news mostly to ourselves. With our life not being in the best place at the time, with this being our 6th child, and with Dan and this baby so close we knew some of the judgments we were up against. The few people we told were close to us and were people we knew would support us in this stressful time. Don't worry, just because we didn't tell you doesn't mean you're not one of those people. :) Things moved along slowly the first few months. I started to show earlier than normal, but I was able to pass it off as unlost baby weight and for the most part people didn't know. Then March 1st came and things started to happen.

I woke up a little before my alarm the morning of March 1st, went to the bathroom and discovered I was bleeding. The cramping started shortly after that and so did my freaking out. In all 5 of my other pregnancies I had never experienced anything like this and I didn't know what to think. I woke up Kenny, he called the hospital and they told us it would be best to come in. So, not wanting me to have to go alone, we called our wonderful friend Sara Hix at 6:30 in the morning, told her we had to take me to the hospital and asked her if we would watch our kids for us (she didn't know at the time I was pregnant.) We got the big kids ready for school, put them on the bus at 7:15, and headed over to Sara's house. It's so nice to have wonderful friends willing to do things for you at such odd hours.

Once in the hospital I had a bunch of tests done. They took my blood, listened for a heartbeat (which they couldn't find, this totally freaked me out) and finally ordered an ultrasound. I have never been so relieved to see a little heart beat on a computer screen as I was that morning. Whatever fear I had about this baby joining our family was washed away in that moment. I knew that no matter what we would make things work and that the most important thing was this little baby growing inside of me. I just laid there and cried, so grateful to still have a baby. The nurse informed us I was 14 weeks along and that though it was to early to determine, her guess was that it was a boy. I started to improve and after a few hours they sent me home, putting me on partial bed rest for a week at which time I was suppose to see the doctor. Yeah right! With 5 kids at home bed rest wasn't all that possible, but I did the best I could.

Since then things have been better. They never did find anything wrong with me, I guess it was just a fluke thing. I'm happy to have a healthy baby growing inside me even if I'm miserable. This has been by far my hardest pregnancy. I don't know if it's because of my age, or maybe because it's my 6th child, or maybe because he and Dan are so close, it's probably all three and then some, but I do know it's been rather hard on me. I have days where I can't really do anything other than just lay around because of the pain and contractions. Kenny and the kids have been really good to me and I keep telling myself it'll all end someday and it'll be worth it.

We officially announced the new baby in late March, which was a good time considering how big I've gotten lately. On the 21st of April we went in for an ultrasound and found out he is definitely a boy. We are so happy to be evening out our family, 3 girls and 3 boys, and that Daniel will have a brother so close. Our little guy is due August 28th which will make him and Daniel 14 months apart. This means I will have 6 kids 8 and under. It's quite a lot of kids in a short amount of time, but if you only count the youngest 3 I'll have 3 kids 2 and under. I'll admit I'm a little nervous for the first few months of this little guys life. That's a lot of little kids. I really hope he's a good sleeper and is kind to Mommy. It'll be a challenge, but it'll be worth it.

It's Boy Number 2

Yesterday was my ultrasound and my lovely sister-in-law, Sarah, came up from Pocatello to watch the kids while we went to the ultrasound. Sarah Kate decided she wanted to go, but we couldn't talk Ben into going, he was way more interested in playing with his cousins. They did the normal check up thing and then the doctor came in to do the ultrasound. He quickly discovered we are indeed having another boy. YEAH! Another little boy. I'm so happy, but honestly I think I would have been happy either way. I love girls, but it'll be nice to get some more blue in the house.

As I already said, Sarah Kate came to the ultrasound with us. She enjoyed being with just Mommy and Daddy and she enjoyed the ultrasound until it was discovered that he was a he. This didn't please her at all. I think if she could have, she would have gotten up and left at the very moment. She wanted another sister so bad and look as though she was going to cry when she found out she was having a brother. Since then she has warmed up to the idea and I think by the time the baby comes she'll be happy.

Ben on the other hand is VERY excited to be having a brother. He needs a brother really bad even if they are 5 years apart. Ever since he found out he's been making comments about what he's going to do when his baby brother arrives. He told me he's going to teach him all about Star Wars and he hopes that we can watch more boy movies (instead of girl movies) because there will be another boy in the house. I'm so happy for him and I have an odd feeling this little guy will look up to his big brother for the rest of his life.

As far as everything else goes, everything is good. The baby looks healthy with a good spine, a good heart, and a good brain. He's about a week smaller than he should be, but all my babies have been at least that small at this point. They're going to do another ultrasound in 6 weeks to see if he's still that far behind and to determine if they need to move my due date back (no thank you.) We are so excited to be having a little boy and can't wait until he joins our family in June.

#5 Is On Its Way

So the news is out. #5 is on it's way. Yes, we're expecting another baby. If this shocks you, your not alone. I was so surprised I screamed. What am I going to do with 5 kids? I've gone from absolute shock, to happy, to terrified, to overwhelmed, to whatever other emotion you can come up with. We're overall happy, but the shock still hasn't warn off. This little one is due the end of June so I'm about 6 weeks along. Kenny and I had been wondering if we were suppose to have another baby or not. We just didn't know. Most of the time it's hard for us to get pregnant (with Hannah I had to take drugs) so I guess God just thought that considering we were thinking about being done, he'd just give us one to show we weren't.

We're very grateful for the blessing of another baby in our family. The kids are excited, but Ben didn't understand how I could have a baby in my belly when I still have a baby (Gracie). When the shock wears off (if the shock wears off) I'll be delighted, but probably still scared. I'll be needing major tips from all you who have 5 or more kids. How do you do it?